Having been in consultation with a soap maker this weekend she informed me that any product we make must sit and cure for 6 weeks. Maybe a bit less in her climate controlled room. Reason being is Tallow must solidify and cure. Does anyone have any knowledge of this.
Curing of shave soap
- Thread starter Shave A Buck
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Joe, how old are you?
My father came home from WW11 with some French soap. My mother considered it too good to use and she kept in a drawer slowly giving up it's scent to her clothes. She finally started to use it in the 1960's and I recall it seeming to last a very long time.
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I would say medium cured and hoping to last a long long time.
I use mine the day after i make it. I check it as soon as it cools...can be used then as I hot process it and the saponification is complete before it cools. I tongue test it as a final QC. No sting no lye.
Cut it into bars and start using it. I can only use one bar at a time and the rest cure/dry while i enjoy the first one.
As stated, Cold Process is not the same. but the tongue test works there too. If distributing your soaps be damn sure 'bout these things. one can be cautious without being a weenie about it.
Cut it into bars and start using it. I can only use one bar at a time and the rest cure/dry while i enjoy the first one.
As stated, Cold Process is not the same. but the tongue test works there too. If distributing your soaps be damn sure 'bout these things. one can be cautious without being a weenie about it.
MdC lets their soap cure for 5 months.
Cold proc'ed soaps need 6-8 weeks to finish saponification and dry out a bit. So I've been told. So I've done. I'm not going to argue with centuries of knowledge. You can cut this out by salting out your soap, but that also removes the glycerin and is more trouble than just waiting a couple months in my opinion. Performance settles out on most soaps in 12-24 hours after pouring, so I imagine that the vast, vast majority of saponification is complete at this point, but waiting for a better, drier product is not a problem for me. I do usually cut one hunk out early in the process to test scent and performance every few days.
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Learn something new every day. Great Grandma let her lye soap air for a month before using it.
cold process or hot process? i've read of old-timers doing it both ways. it's about the salts first, the water second.
